Time for Dogs to axe Aka

Caroline Wilson

THE Western Bulldogs must cut their losses and cut Jason Akermanis loose. They might have put off dealing with the problem until tomorrow but the instinct two days ago to rid themselves of the individualistic player and his baggage was completely correct and they should act upon it.

Not because Akermanis wrote a strangely homophobic column warning gay footballers to stay in the closest.

Not because he might have then lied about who actually wrote what in the column, and not because he is starting to play disturbingly regularly like a 33-year-old.

None of the above have helped Akermanis but the real reason he should leave the game is the irrevocable breakdown of trust between the player and his teammates.

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He is playing as though he would rather be somewhere else and it seems in the first place that he played on this year for the wrong reasons. His leadership group feels either let down or totally sick of him, and his teammates don't even seem to want to kick to him any more - at least, he is certainly not a priority when faced with a 50-50 decision.

And the Bulldogs executive? The men who have helped recreate this football club are behaving disturbingly like their Brisbane counterparts of four years ago in Akermanis' last dreadful season at the Gabba.

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One week ago they might have confronted him with some strong advice but now no one can quite agree on who it was who relented and allowed him one last season - a season on a bargain basement pay packet that turned Akermanis' media work into a priority.

All use the word ''seduced'' when you talk to them now. And David Smorgon? His voice was one of anger and disappointment when asked to comment on the player yesterday.

Last night was his club's gala Hall of Fame presentation - an event Smorgon described as one of the biggest nights in the Bulldogs' history. No doubt today the newspapers will be speculating once again about Akermanis.

What is it about this footballer that so divides football clubs? That infuriates, distracts, and so inflames respected champions like Leigh Matthews, Michael Voss and Justin Leppitsch and causes them to behave so out of character?

This column once described Akermanis as a maniacal narcissist but he would now justify his individualistic behaviour by saying he is trying to make a quid as a commentator. Perhaps it is simply that he has no concept of, and no deep respect for the team.

Last year you got the feeling that the player was looking to set himself up as a full-time commentator but when he felt that was not going to happen he started to reconsider extending his playing career.

He is not the reason Brisbane fell from the top but the leaders there at the time agree he intensified their struggle and their loss of faith. Nor is he responsible for the Bulldogs' relatively disappointing first half of a season that promised so much. But this game is so professional now and the competition so intense that any small setback can have an effect.

Last week against North Melbourne the playing group felt galvanised in needing to support a player they believed had been hung out to dry by the media and the public. This week they felt not only betrayed but tired of Akermanis. If that affected their performance by 0.5 per cent then he's no longer worth his spot. And the team, incidentally, needs to look at itself as well.

Reportedly the player himself would strongly look at retiring rather than play in the VFL, so perhaps that should be the message delivered by Rodney Eade tomorrow.

As the first modern footballer to earn more money in the media than as a player, Jason Akermanis has shown he cannot handle serving two masters. If he does the right thing by the Bulldogs his Herald Sun columns will run five or six pages in from the back and MTR's ratings will be affected.

If he does the right thing by his media obligations the Bulldogs suffer.

So the decision on Monday should be mutual. And judging by comments directed at him by a number of senior Herald Sun journalists in recent days, he has some repair work to do there also.